Hepatitis is one of the most widespread chronic infections within the global population. Most commonly caused via infection by one of five viruses (hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E), hepatitis is defined by inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in liver tissue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most serious type of viral hepatitis is Hepatitis B (HBV), a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. Transmitted through contact with blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person, HBV is 50 to 100 times more infectious than Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and, unlike HIV, can survive outside of a host organism for up to 7 days. During that time, HBV retains the ability to cause infection if it comes into contact with a non-infected individual. WHO's fact sheet indicates that about 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with HBV and about 350 million more are living with chronic HBV infection (WHO Hepatitis Fact Sheet, August, 2008, www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/). While a vaccine against HBV has been available since 1982, there is currently no cure for those who are already infected. The 350 million people globally who are living with chronic HBV infection are highly susceptible to HBV-related liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, or death. WHO estimates 600,000 persons die each year due to acute or chronic consequences of HBV, and ranked liver cancer as the third leading cause of HBV-related death worldwide.
Cancer is a large, heterogeneous class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth and invasion that intrudes upon and destroys adjacent tissues. Cancer often metastasizes, spreading to other locations in the body via the lymphatic system or through the bloodstream. According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., with half of all men and one-third of all women developing some form of cancer during their lifetimes (Snowden, ACS Researchers: Progress, Challenges in the War on Cancer, 2010, www.cancer.org/Cancer/news/News/acs-researchers-progress-chal). WHO accounted for over 7.6 million deaths and 12.7 million incidents of cancer globally in 2008 and estimates 21 million new cases by 2030 with a mortality rate of 13 million deaths per year (WHO Cancer Fact Sheet, February, 2011, www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/).
There is no total and complete cure for chronic diseases such as HBV and cancer. While there are limited numbers of drugs developed to treat HBV, many suffer from one or more disadvantages, most notably adverse side-effects, build-up of viral resistance, complex administration methods, and often high cost. Similarly, cancer treatment methods, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery often possess significant adverse side effects. These generally include removal of healthy tissue during surgery, death of non-cancerous cells during chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and significant reduction of white blood cells and other immune system components leading to increased susceptibility for infection. Moreover, the toxicity of many cancer treatments can cause the failure of organ systems, such as the liver and the kidney, as a complication of those treatments.
Therefore, there remains a need for simple and effective natural compositions that are well tolerated, simple to administer, and relatively inexpensive to relieve the symptoms of chronic diseases such as HBV and cancer. These natural compositions may be utilized in an adjuvant or neoadjuvant setting to ease suffering, to improve quality of life, and to relieve the symptoms of patients suffering from chronic diseases with reduced side effects.
Throughout this specification, various patents, patent applications and other types of publications (e.g., journal articles) are referenced. The disclosure of all patents, patent applications, and publications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.